The Family Business

Patch-Up and Recovery

From Dean's POV:

"Sam, take us to the back entrance if you can. Maggie doesn't want the kids to see her like this. Once we get her cleaned up and bandaged, we can think about bringing them in, but not right now," I said.

Castiel opened the back door for me as I carried Maggie to the infirmary. I gently placed her on the bed and started to assess her injuries. She had extensive cuts on her arms and legs, some deeper than others. There was a lot of dried blood on her clothes, so I changed her into a hospital gown to see what needed stitching and what would be fine with just bandages. Her right eye was swollen shut and she had a bruise on her left cheek.

Sam came in from parking the car and stood behind me as I opened a suture kit. "Dean, why don't you let me do that? You go be with the kids," he suggested.

"No, Sam. I can do this. I need to do this. She's my wife, it's my job to take care of her," I insisted, as I started to sew up the jagged wound on Maggie's right forearm. "I should've been here, Sam. If I had been, this wouldn't have happened to her. Again. I don't know how many more times I can see her get hurt like this."

Sam opened another suture kit and was stitching up the deep cut on her left thigh. "Dean, I understand how you feel. You don't know for sure that being here would've changed anything. None of us does. Besides, it may still have happened, or something worse, like to the kids," he said.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," I said. "Hey, maybe we should have some sort of 'safe room', like what Bobby had. There's got to be a room like that somewhere in this place. Somewhere that the kids and/or Maggie can go to hide out until we get home. I'd sure feel better about leaving Maggie and the kids alone if we had one."

"Not a bad idea to have one. Tomorrow, maybe the kids and I can go exploring, give you some time alone with Maggie. Plus, it'll give them something to do," Sam suggested.

"Okay, I think we have her cuts all stitched/bandaged up. I'm going to get an ice pack for her right eye." I stood up from my chair and thought I heard someone say "Dean?" very softly. When I turned back to Maggie, she was awake. "Maggie? Oh, Baby, it's so good to see you awake!" I exclaimed.

I leaned down to kiss her and tasted her salty tears. "Sweetheart, why are you crying?" I asked, carefully stroking her cheek.

Maggie took a deep breath before continuing. "Because you're having to patch me up again. Because another Knight of Hell decided to use me as a pincushion again. Because I know it tears you up inside, seeing me like this," she finished, tears streaking down her face.

I sat down on the bed next to her and delicately took her in my arms. "Hey, hey, I'm just glad you're alive, Maggie. You did great. In the heat of the moment, you got the kids to safety before those demons broke in. Sam and I got you all sewn up, so you have to be careful when you move. I was just going to get something for your eye when I noticed you were awake. I'll get you an ice pack and we'll see if we can get some of the swelling down. Maybe now we can maybe let the kids in to see you. Okay?" I asked.

She nodded, and I lightly kissed her forehead before getting up from the bed. I brought back an ice pack wrapped in a towel and gingerly placed it on her eye. She winced from the pain, but held it to her eye.

I went out to where Charlie was watching a movie with John and Hannah. As soon as they saw me, they launched themselves into my waiting arms. I closed my eyes and hugged them tight.

When they pulled back, I asked them to sit on the couch. I knelt in front of them and said, "I wanted to let you know how proud I am of you two. You stayed safe by doing what Mom told you to do and without question.